UNews - Let's Talk Science

Destination Exploration celebrating 20 years of STEM outreach activities with community open house

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 May 2022 20:27:54 +0000

Started as a one-week science camp and a handful of school workshops in 2002, Destination Exploration (DE) has blossomed into the flagship STEM youth outreach program in southern Alberta. On Saturday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Science Commons Atrium, DE will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a family-friendly open house.

Operating under the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Faculty of Arts & Science, DE provides hands-on, engaging science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs for youth and their families. For Valerie Archibald, director of youth outreach at ULethbridge, the goal of DE has always been focused on unlocking the incredible potential of all participants.

Destination Exploration has been igniting curiosity in youth for 20 years.

“All our programming, all our experiences are designed to provide youth and their families with opportunities to engage with STEM in a way that creates a self-awareness of their abilities in these fields. Science, technology, math and engineering are accessible to everyone, and they can be fun,” she says. “By getting youth excited about STEM and bringing the whole family into this journey of exploring, we hope to set the basis for lifelong learning.”

Over the last 20 years, DE has grown immeasurably by forging key partnerships within the southern Alberta community and beyond. In 2010, DE and Let’s Talk Science formed a relationship that now delivers kindergarten to Grade 12 STEM programming throughout the region. Also in 2010, DE became a part of the Actua network, a national organization devoted to unlocking the potential of youth through STEM.

As well, DE has been buoyed by relationships with the Lethbridge Public Library, which has created collaborative clubs like Mini Tech-Heads and been the downtown pick-up spot for STEM bags, thereby expanding DE’s reach to Lethbridge families, and industry supporter Pratt & Whitney Canada, with which they have received generous funding and partnered to offer Family STEM Nights.

“The support we have received from our partners has really allowed us to reach many more youth and families in southern Alberta in new and innovative ways,” adds Archibald.

Saturday’s event will showcase everything that makes DE great, including games, robots and science experiments. People will get the chance to meet their summer staff and take a look at the many summer camp offerings and you might even get an opportunity to do some Sphero Bowling. Free parking is available in Lots S or N, adjacent to Science Commons.

Visit 20 Years of DE Celebration! For more information.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and Let’s Talk Science open registration for 9th Annual Spooky Science Weekend

trevor.kenney — Thu, 10 Oct 2019 21:08:32 +0000

On November 2, 2019, Let’s Talk Science will offer numerous fun, hands-on science activities for enthusiastic children, as well as captivating and explosive demonstrations from several different streams of science at the 9th Annual Spooky Science Weekend.

This year’s highlights include firing a vortex cannon, making ghostly boo bubbles and brewing unusual potion solutions — all in the U of L’s new Science Commons atrium. There will also be colourful concoctions and an explosive pumpkin demonstration courtesy of our very own Chem Guys; be prepared for some messy, spooky fun! And of course, we would love to see all participants come out in their Halloween costumes.

Registration for each of the two Spooky Science time slots (1 to 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 8 p.m.) opened today at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spooky-science-2019-tickets-73875743337. For safety reasons, no more than 150 children can attend a single event, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Registration for the Spooky Science Weekend is free and only kids need to register for a space, their accompanying adult does not.

Spooky Science Weekend is organized each year by science graduate and undergraduate students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge who volunteer for the national Let’s Talk Science Outreach program. It is their goal to share their passion for science with children of all ages, to increase the public accessibility of science and to inspire students to pursue careers in science. The activities for the event have been designed by graduate student volunteers between several different science disciplines. Overall, more than 20 graduate and undergraduate student volunteers will assist during the day to make it a fun and inspiring experience for everyone involved.

ABOUT LET’S TALK SCIENCE:

The Let’s Talk Science Outreach program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge targets local high schools and is managed by graduate student volunteers in the sciences. This program enhances the science experience of students, in particular in high schools, and provides graduate students with the opportunity to grow their skills in science communication, thereby strengthening the connection between the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and local schools. Over the years, the Let’s Talk Science Outreach program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has conducted numerous visits to high school, middle school and elementary school classes in Lethbridge and southern Alberta; has offered teachers’ workshops at Teachers’ Convention; and has added to the scientific program at Lethbridge science fairs by offering tours of research laboratories and numerous hands-on activities.

The Let’s Talk Science Outreach program at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is supported by the national Let’s Talk Science organization. Let’s Talk Science is an award-winning, national, non-profit, science outreach organization. Let’s Talk Science creates and delivers science learning programs and services that turn children and youth on to science, keep them engaged in learning and develop their potential to become 21st century citizens, innovators and stewards. For more information about Let’s Talk Science, please visit letstalkscience.ca.

Igniting southern Alberta students for science

caroline.zentner — Mon, 06 May 2019 16:56:21 +0000

More than 100 Grade 6–8 students caused the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s largest lecture hall to vibrate with energy during the first annual Let’s Talk Science Challenge on May 2. The students cheered and clapped in their excitement to participate in this competition.

A team of middle school students participates in the engineering challenge as part of the Let's Talk Science Challenge.

“The students' engagement was remarkable and infectious," said Claire Niehaus, a volunteer with the Let’s Talk Science Program. "Throughout the entire day, they pushed each other and clearly enjoyed this competition. Their energy was almost too much to stand!”

In the morning, the students and their teachers arrived in buses from schools spanning the area from Milk River to Nanton. After an inspiring greeting by the energetic emcee, Sam Krause, the student teams competed for 1.5 hours in an intense science quiz. The room alternated between hurried whispering while the teams discussed their answers to loud cheers when they found out who got the question right. The quiz was rapid fire, as teams had only 15 seconds to answer the toughest questions.

“I would not have been able to answer most of these questions,” said Darren Gemmill, a coordinator with the Let’s Talk Science program.

The top team got more than 80 per cent of the marks in this quiz competition. The students easily outcompeted the volunteers—U of L science students—because they had studied a 100-page workbook for two months.

After the quiz competition, the students proceeded to the highlight of the Let’s Talk Science Challenge—the engineering competition in the afternoon. The curiosity and energy rose again as student teams gathered around tables with mysterious materials packed in a box. They were instructed to build a device to fulfill a specific task using only the materials in their box within a 30-minute time limit. In this short time, the students constructed grasping hands, scoops, tweezers and many more devices that were then put into practice.

Following a presentation on exoplanets by Dr. Chad Povey, an instructor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the award ceremony began.

The Elements of Confusion team (Jasmine Anchoris, Cole Blades, Kaden Joss, and Thomas Schmidt-Bellach) from J. T. Foster High School in Nanton captured first place.

The Diseased Frogs (Emily Miller, Maren Hardy, Mattias Neison, and Ty Romeril) from Raymond Junior High School took second place.

RADD (Danya Braun, Anaelle Ravelojaona, Reuben Peters, and Doren Diaz) from Immanual Christian High School in Lethbridge took third place.

In addition to the scientific competition, the team Particles THAT Matter from J.T. Foster High School in Nanton (students Taylor Wild, Rachel Peters, Payton LaBrash, and Mason Kohut) received the spirit award for displaying the best attitude. The team not only arrived in beautifully crafted, matching science T-shirts but also developed a fun cheer displaying the highest dedication and engagement with the Let’s Talk Science Challenge.

“This was a full success," said Nathan Hill, main organizer of the event and Let's Talk Science coordinator. "Clearly, this was the best event we have had this year and it is an example for the extraordinary teamwork of the UofL Let’s Talk Science team.”

In the end, everybody agreed: “We will have a second, annual Let’s Talk Science Challenge next year!”

The core leadership team of the Let’s Talk Science program consists of five graduate student coordinators working in collaboration with Dr. Ute Kothe as the faculty supervisor and Povey as advising instructor. They began preparing for the Let's Talk Science Challenge since September 2018. In total, 27 university and college campuses put on the Let’s Talk Science Challenge, with more than 3,000 Grade 6–8 students participating. On the actual day, many Let’s Talk Science volunteers, all undergraduate and graduate students at the U of Lethbridge, helped with judging and managing the students.

“There is no limit to what these young scientists can accomplish,” said Dr. Ute Kothe, Let's Talk Science supervisor.

High school students to participate in fourth annual Let’s DO Science Day

caroline.zentner — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 17:02:51 +0000

High school students from across southern Alberta will participate in a variety of science activities at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge during Let’s DO Science Day on Thursday, April 30. Let’s DO Science Day will be filled with numerous fun, hands-on science activities to expose students to several different streams of science and encourage them to think about potential careers and futures in post-secondary education.

High school students work in a U of L lab at last year's Let's DO Science Day.

By tackling state-of-the-art scientific problems and procedures, students’ scientific knowledge will be challenged. Among other activities, students will have the chance to investigate the anti-oxidant content of green tea and other foods in chemistry, learn how to use light to study objects in outer space, dissect sheep brains in neuroscience and design helmets to protect the brain from collisions in kinesiology.

At the end of the day, students will be awarded prizes for their achievements and active participation before hearing a special presentation from Dr. Bryan E. Kolb, professor of Neuroscience at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, former President of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behavior, and Cognitive Science and former President of the Experimental Division of the Canadian Psychological Association. He is currently a member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research’s program in Child and Brain Development.

Let’s DO Science Day is organized each year by U of L science graduate and undergraduate students who volunteer for the national Let’s Talk Science Outreach program. It is their goal to share their passion for science with high school students, to increase the public accessibility of science and to inspire students to pursue careers in science. Activities for the event have been designed by graduate students and faculty volunteers from several science disciplines. Overall, more than 20 graduate and undergraduate student volunteers, along with faculty members, will assist during the day to make it a fun and inspiring experience for everyone involved.

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